War-torn Chechnya undergoes transformation

Two decades since conflicts, Grozny, the republic's capital, is now home to skyscrapers.

06 Oct 2011 20:38 GMT

Two wars in Chechnya between separatist fighters and the Russian government in the 1990s left tens of thousands dead and destroyed neighbourhoods, roads and factories.

But nearly two decades after the conflicts, Grozny, the Chechen capital, is now home to a collection of skyscrapers.

In the last decade, Russia poured nearly $6bn in aid into Chechnya, in hopes that the money would not only go to building skyscrapers but also to creating jobs and ensuring that unemployed youth were not driven to join the separatist fighters.